At this point, there is probably an equal amount of hype and trepidation for Ubisoft’s upcoming The Division. Hype because, let’s face it, it looks pretty cool and interesting, and you probably want to play it. Trepidation because it’s Ubisoft, and every single major product that they have launched within the last year has been mired with controversy, riddled with bugs, and generally been unable to live up the expectations its own marketing set for it.
Now, YouTuber Open World Games, who is allegedly an alpha tester on the game, is sharing some early details on how the game is coming along. A lot of it sounds promising, and a lot of it seems to confirm our worst fears- but remember, the game’s build that he’s been hands on with is an alpha. Presumably there is a lot of time for Ubisoft to go ahead and fix the flaws he is pointing out.
The game’s shooting mechanics are solid, and the open world is a true open world, fully explorable, and with real, compelling RPG and loot mechanics motivating it. Which, let’s face it, after how banal Ubisoft open worlds have been in recent games, comes as good news.
As of right now, the game does have lots of glitches and bugs, though Open World Games stresses that they can be fixed in the months leading up to launch.
Ubisoft, for your sake as much as ours, I really hope you don’t bungle this launch.